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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28059732">"Accidents" Happen, But Not On This Scale</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyAngstWriter/pseuds/FluffyAngstWriter'>FluffyAngstWriter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Horse Racing, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Basically Splinter is Yoshi's horse and Shredder is Saki's horse, Blood and Injury, Brotherly Love, Comfhurt, Coming of Age, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Focused On Recovery, Gen, Hamato Yoshi and Splinter are separate, Horse Racing, Horseback Riding, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Hurt Leonardo (TMNT), Hurt/Comfort, I don't know how this became a coming of age fic, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Major Character Injury, Not beta read we die like Splinter, Oroku Saki and Shredder are separate, Permanent Injury, Rivalry, Sabotage, TCEST DON'T TOUCH THIS WITH A 10-FOOT POLE, Unreliable Narrator, Walking Canes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:06:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28059732</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyAngstWriter/pseuds/FluffyAngstWriter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonardo continued to race horses, even after the tragic death of their father, which was most likely caused by sabotage by Shredder, even if they couldn't prove it. It was their livelihood, after all. Racing was all they did, all they knew, even though Raphael and Donatello had refused to even ride a horse since.</p><p>He wasn't expecting an accident of his own, especially one that would permanently damage his ability to walk and force him to use a cane. Would he ride again? <em>Could</em> he ride again? Horse racing was all he knew. Would he, a crippled horse jockey, be allowed to ride once more?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Donatello &amp; Leonardo &amp; Michelangelo &amp; Raphael (TMNT), Leonardo &amp; His 3000 Pets (TMNT)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. It Wasn't An Accident!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A quick note: I do not trust my sources. If anybody knows more about jockeys and horse races and horses and paramedics and medical stuff then me and my <s>probably super unreliable even though they look trustworthy enough</s> sites I used, please inform me of what's correct and what's really truly wrong if you know</p><p>Also, I do know about the tendon surgery. I found out two-thirds the way through the chapter and had no intention on changing it because look at that delicious plot convenience over the hill. I'm not usually one to resort to plot convenience, but I need to use it this time for interesting plot. Sorry yall</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was 2:31 p.m. in the afternoon on a cool spring day, the warmth of the sun making it a good day to kick back and relax, yet at a horse race set in the quiet part of the country, everything was abuzz with activity of jockeys preparing themselves and their horses for the upcoming race, the commentary setting up, bets flying left and right on who would win, most of the bets settling on the favorite, and the audience finding their seats, talking of who their favorite was and who they thought would win.</p><p>Down at the stables on site, one jockey remained hidden away with his horse and family until he absolutely needed to come out and join the others at the starting gates. He preferred to remain under the radar anyway.</p><p>Leonardo glanced over at his brothers, stroking Fujin's, his horse's neck, dark bluish-black hair falling into his eyes. He knew that ever since their father had died in a racing accident, Raphael and Donatello hadn't like the idea of him continuing to race, for fear of losing their eldest brother to the dangerous sport. Michelangelo hadn't begun to worry like that yet, being young and adoring horses just like Leonardo did. He guessed that horses were in their blood. Even though she didn't voice it, he knew that their mother worried too.</p><p>It- It wasn't an accident. It was <em>sabotage</em> by their father's rival, Oroku Saki. He couldn't prove it yet, but mark his words, Leonardo would.</p><p>The four brothers sat together in silence, other than the chatter of the amassing crowd and the occasional huff from Fujin. Finally, it was almost time for the race to start. Raphael was the first to rise.</p><p>"Well," he began, "good luck, Leo."</p><p>Donatello grinned, grabbed Michelangelo's hand as he stood to make sure that their ten year old brother wouldn't get separated or lost along the way to their seats and spoke, "Even though you won't need it."</p><p>Leonardo huffed a short laugh.</p><p>"Thanks," the eldest crouched to be level with the youngest, who's bright blue eyes clearly portrayed excitement, "Be good, Mikey, okay?"</p><p>Michelangelo responded with vigorous nodding and an excess amount of bouncing, which didn't fill Leonardo with confidence in the ginger brother's word.</p><p>They waved at each other, and Leonardo watched his brothers leave to find their seats before taking a deep breath and leading his horse outside. Once outside, with the cool breeze soothing his nerves, Leonardo mounted his steed and guided Fujin to the starting gates. Gate number four. Careful about the confined space, the horse and it's rider entered the gate, hearing the doors shut behind them. Leonardo's heart beat harder, faster. With anxiety or excitement? He couldn't tell, and it didn't exactly matter to him at that moment. Leaning forward, he waited for the bell to ring and the gates to be thrown open.</p><p>It came, the sound almost deafening in the near silence of before, save for the huff of horses. When the bell was rung, Leonardo didn't need to prompt Fujin. Instead, after racing so much that it was merely instinct, Fujin took off the second the gates were open, taking off down the track. The thundering of hooves rang in his ears, bringing a sense of calm in the familiarity of the sound as he moved towards the inside ring for the upcoming turn. 2000 meters of race track was much longer than most people anticipated, and would most likely have at least two turns. </p><p>Taking the lead, Leonardo spotted somebody who was <em>really</em> good. Good enough that if they kept racing, they could be considered a rival. But, at the moment, Leonardo didn't pay them much attention as he began moving to the other side of the track for the next turn. After that turn, it would merely be a matter of holding the lead through whatever track was left and then the final stretch. He knew the final stretch was dangerous, when everybody was close together and going at top speed. A single accident could cause an all out disaster. Finally, the last 200 meters came. The rival racer was nearly at an equal speed, matching Leonardo stride for stride and riding a bit too close for comfort. In the last 200 meters, he ignored it, keeping his focus on not crashing. He could hear his brothers distantly, cheering him on, but still refused to let his attention be diverted.</p><p>Suddenly, the rival racer started to swerve towards Leonardo at top speed, herding him too close to the metal railing of the track. Leonardo panicked, and, knowing that it could mean losing the race, started to pull on the reins, but there were people packed in behind him as well. Slowing down would mean crashing, and crashing would mean the possibility of jockeys and horses alike getting injured. Horses, for all that power packed into the muscle, had bones that were practically made of glass, and breaking a leg would mean that the horse would have to be put down.</p><p>Leonardo couldn't risk that, so he kept going.</p><p>Even when his ankle hit the railing and stayed pressed against it.</p><p>Even when agony like fire started burning from his ankle up, feeling like it reached his knee, his hip, his side, spreading into his whole body.</p><p>Even when blood smeared the formerly pristine white railing.</p><p>He yelled out in pain, grip loosening on the reins in an instinctive action to grab his ankle as the agony cut deeper and deeper into his ankle, the blood splatters and smears become more and more prominent.</p><p>His yell of pain caused mass panic among the crowds, other jockeys, and more importantly, the horses. If the horses spooked, it would be disastrous. Unfortunately, his own horse was frightened, froze to the spot, and reared, throwing him off. He hit the ground, back hitting the ground with enough force to knock the air from his lungs. Then, everything else was a blur, head spinning and gaze blurry, with his ears ringing loud enough to muffle most other sounds.</p><p>Distantly, he was aware of the other jockeys swerving away from him and Fujin in order to avoid a crash, avoiding trampling a jockey, and to soothe their own horses. Distantly, he was aware of concerned voices nearing him, removing his helmet to be sure there was no head damage, peeling blood-soaked silks away from his burning ankle in order to care for it. He was distantly aware of a staff member taking his horse back to the stalls while his brothers- <em>How and why did they get onto the track</em>- Ran closer to him. By then, there was a slight, cool relief from the pain in his ankle, and two serious voices talking of hospitalization for quite some time. His brothers reached him, Michelangelo hovering nearby with tears in his baby blue eyes, Donatello gripping Leonardo's hand- Maybe for his own reassurance, as well as Leonardo's, but Leonardo didn't mind offering as much support as he could in the moment- and Raphael, crouched next to Leonardo, asking the paramedics if he would be okay. He could see a handful of jockeys hovering nearby, the looks on their faces that he could barely see portraying that they knew it could've been them, and a few even looked sympathetic for a nineteen year old rider who was already downed in his first year of racing, and most likely wouldn't ride again if the injury was serious.</p><p>Speaking of, Leonardo tried to tilt his head to see his ankle and gauge how bad it was, but the injury was compressed and bandaged, to keep it from bleeding further. His head flopped back to the ground with an exhausted huff.</p><p>"M'fine-" he whispered, but he wheezed shortly after.</p><p>He heard the voice of Donatello, and vaguely realized that he was scolding him, telling him that he wasn't fine.</p><p>Then, he heard that he really would need to be hospitalized, and that he would most likely never walk on his own again. Something about torn muscle, tendons, ligaments...</p><p>There were footsteps, fading into the distance, before returning. He trembled as he was moved elsewhere, before the ground was <em>disappearing under him</em>- He was getting moved onto a stretcher, that was all, no need to panic-</p><p>The thought of remaining calm was gone as soon as he heard the distressed voices of his brothers, asking if they could come with him, growing more distressed when they were declined the ability to come with him in the ambulance. Leonardo tried to roll onto his side and push himself up, he wanted to reassure his brothers that he was fine, that it would be okay, everything would be okay, but he collapsed in the first stage of rolling onto his side. Somebody tried to reassure him, but he needed to calm his brothers-</p><p>He heard Donatello's voice, soft and reassuring him, following him into a mainly white room. Room? Most likely. Maybe. He was unsure. His voice faded into the distance, raising to make sure that Leonardo could still hear it, just before he heard doors shut, and an engine start nearby.</p><p>%%%</p><p>The days blurred together after that, a merry-go-round of life. White rooms, occasional the figures of his brothers with his mother, who embraced him best she could, but more often, the figure in the room was a doctor or a nurse. He had his bandages changed, wound cleaned, stitches checked, and then he was medicated. Given food at a normal time, even though he wasn't hungry. He wanted to know what happened after the accident, where his brothers were and what they were doing. Were they okay? Were they worried? After the first few weeks, or a month, he wasn't sure, the confusion stopped. Leonardo wished that he could've said he was thinking more clearly, but the medication fogged his head.</p><p>He spent a lot of time asleep.</p><p>Yes, the days blurred together after that awful accident, in a horrible merry-go-round of life in the hospital.</p><p>%%%</p><p>Raphael sat next to his sleeping eldest brother in the pristine white hospital room, hating every second of being there. Not because he didn't want to be near his brother, but he hated the fact that his brother was there in the <em>first place</em>.</p><p>He growled slightly, tapping the floor anxiously with one foot.</p><p>Occasionally, he had been there with his brothers when one of the nurses changed Leonardo's bandages. It wasn't exactly awful to look at, the skin stitched up so that the wound wouldn't worsen, but he had heard it was bad when the injury first happened. When his older brother's ankle had been pressed against the railing while going at top speed, it immediately began to cut through the skin. It went deeper, however, cutting easily through muscle, tissue, tendons, and ligaments, almost reaching the bone. He hadn't gotten a good look at it when it first happened, and deep inside, he was glad he hadn't. He probably would've thrown up. Or yelled. More likely the latter of the two.</p><p>Leaning forward, he sighed, aware of his brothers glancing at him before moving their gaze back to the eldest. His mother offered her hand, and he grabbed it, squeezing it.</p><p>The fact that his brother wouldn't walk the same, or even be <em>able</em> to walk without the use of a cane.</p><p>And God, would he try to ride a horse again after getting his ankle torn up like that? Raphael grimaced at the thought. He would do whatever it took to make sure Leonardo didn't. He loved his brother, but sometimes his skull was thicker than Michelangelo's.</p><p>Raphael sat next to his sleeping eldest brother in the pristine white hospital room, hating every second of being there.</p><p>%%%</p><p>Donatello glanced at Raphael, then at the fact he was holding their mother's hand. Odd. He hadn't done that since he was eight. He turned his attention back to the eldest, brows furrowing in concern.</p><p>He knew quite a bit about the medical world, despite being fifteen, and knew that his brother would spend a lot of time asleep, that he would be mostly well.</p><p>Mostly.</p><p>Mostly well, but not the same. There was, of course, physical therapy as he relearned how to walk after healing all the way, but then they had to deal with the trauma, and, if the eldest even <em>wanted</em> to, they would have to help him relearn how to ride a horse.</p><p>Nobody ever said it would be easy.</p><p>He glanced back over to Raphael, who had stopped holding their mother's hand to wrap an arm over Michelangelo's shoulders.</p><p>He turned his attention back to the eldest, and didn't say a word.</p><p>%%%</p><p>Michelangelo stared at a spot on the ground, as distraught and confused as any ten year old child who didn't know that there were awful people in the world should be. Why had Leonardo been thrown off? Other horses were panicked, but Fujin was a very, very good boy who was very calm whenever his oldest brother let Michelangelo visit and he was such a good boy who was only pure like any horse <em>so why did Leonardo get thrown off</em>?</p><p>His gaze moved up to look at Leonardo, and very definitely <em>did not see </em> Donatello glancing at the two of them. He scooched a little closer to Raphael like he thought he could hide from his fears in the shadow of the second older brother. Then, he looked back at the ground.</p><p>Michelangelo stared at a spot on the ground, as distraught and confused as any ten year old child should never be.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! Sorry that this fic has been pretty dead, I've been mainly focused on Dark As Midnight, but once that's done, I'll give this fic my full attention!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tang Shen was driving them home. She had tried to only have one brother accompanying them, but they had insisted that they all go. Her will broke, and so, she was driving all four of her children home. Raphael sat in the passenger seat, deathly silent behind her and occasionally glancing back at the others. Leonardo sat in the left side of the car, leaned against the seatbelt, out cold. He was still heavily reliant on pain medication, and what they had him on was strong enough to have him unconscious for most of the time. Michelangelo had settled into the middle seat, staring nervously at his oldest brother and gripping his hand tightly. Donatello sat at the far right, trying to cover up his nerves, but failing in doing so, as he, too, kept glancing over at Leonardo. They kept the crutches in the trunk for safety, just to make sure they didn't happen to hit anything. None of them were comfortable with allowing Leonardo to use them, especially in his state. However, they would still need to get him in the house. Tang Shen's chest tightened with worry for her children. They all agreed the best place to put him was on the couch, not wanting to move him too much.</p><p>As they pulled into the driveway, Michelangelo gently shook Leonardo, who slowly woke up. He mumbled something, mostly asleep and not there mentally. Raphael got out first, and went to the trunk, snatching the crutches up before heading over to Leonardo's side of the car. Donatello got out too, going over to assist his brothers in moving Leonardo. Tang Shen went inside, preparing a space for her oldest son to rest while the three younger sons helped him to get into the house. She kept glancing back at them from the window, watching Leonardo stumble along with the assistance of a pair of crutches and his brothers. He was already half asleep on his feet. More accurately, foot, she reluctantly admitted to herself.</p><p>Her children entered the house, flocking Leonardo like vultures as they herded him over to the couch. Leonardo stumbled blindly, moving slowly when they sat him down.</p><p>"Leo?" Donatello asked, "Can you hear me?"</p><p>Leonardo blinked slowly. That was all the answer they got. Tang Shen sighed, then smiled.</p><p>"Alright boys, it's time to leave your brother alone. He needs his rest." Tang Shen's statement was met with a series of protests and whines, but she shook her head. "No, none of that. Shove off and let him sleep."</p><p>After a few more grumbles, they went their separate ways. Although, she wouldn't have been surprised if they had all went to one room. Quickly approaching the eldest, she placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from nodding off and falling over. He looked as high as a kite and half asleep. Tang Shen wasn't sure how to feel about it, although she knew it was normal. Still keeping a hand on his shoulder, she carefully arranged two or three pillows for him before gently leaning him down to help him settle. He mumbled slightly as she pulled a blanket over him, and she frowned, leaning closer to hear him better. Not repeating himself and probably already asleep, she stood back up, finished swaddling him in blankets, and sat nearby. She didn't want to leave him alone just yet, just in case of an emergency. He probably wouldn't wake up for quite some time, anyway, and she doubted he would be moving even when he did.</p><p>%%%</p><p>Raphael peeked out at his mother and Leonardo from the hallway, frustration burning like an inferno. He knew that Leonardo would be asleep for quite some time, and wake up just to get more medicine, but was it so bad that they just wanted to be near him after what happened? Something fell in his room and he heard his little brothers talking. He winced. Maybe his mother was right. They were a bit loud and chaotic, and would most likely wake Leonardo up. Raphael turned and went back to his room, poking his head inside to see what happened. Michelangelo was laying on the floor, tangled in a knot of blankets and struggling wildly while Donatello tried to unravel him from the mess he had gotten himself into. Dummies. Raphael sighed and approached the two of them. Donatello backed up immediately to see what Raphael would do. Michelangelo merely blinked, until Raphael grabbed the edge of the blankets and lifted them up with one sharp tug, rolling his youngest brother out. Michelangelo wheezed and gave him a thumbs up, sitting up while Raphael dropped the blankets back on his bed. Tang Shen definitely had a point in having them leave.</p><p>Sitting down on his bed, Raphael spoke up, "So... What should we do?"</p><p>Donatello hummed in thought, and Michelangelo looked up at the ceiling, pondering. After a few minutes, nobody had said anything yet.</p><p>Right. No ideas, then.</p><p>None of them wanted to really be near a horse after what happened with both their father and their brother, but they wouldn't neglect the horses' care, and they were still deciding on what to do with the horses. They were waiting until Leonardo was well enough to weigh in on the topic. It was a question of whether to get rid of them if none of would be riding again, or to keep them. If they chose to keep them, they couldn't just leave one horse for whoever was still planning on riding. Horses were social animals, after all. To just keep one would be cruel. After a long moment of pondering, Raphael spoke up.</p><p>"How about we go let the horses out?"</p><p>Donatello looked at him doubtfully, maybe even a bit afraid, while Michelangelo brightened up immediately. At least he hadn't been ruined yet. Soon after, Donatello nodded, and Michelangelo's answer was already clear. The three of them stood up, hushing each other to be quiet, and made their way out of Raphael's room. They were especially quiet passing through the living room, careful not to disturb anything or even breathe until they were outside. They lived pretty far out in the country, and had a pretty good chunk of land to keep their horses, although caring for it was difficult. Their entire "backyard" was fenced in, making it a pasture for the horses, with the stables to the left. With six horses, they had seven acres of land. Enough for them to graze and run so that they weren't cooped up in the stables all of the time. Raphael and Donatello went into the stables to let the horses out while Michelangelo went to get toys for the horses to play with.</p><p>As soon as they walked over to the stalls, Raphael took a deep breath. The musty smell of horses and hay greeted him like always, made him feel comforted for a moment. He used to love horses. He loved everything about them, always wanted to ride with his father and even one day, have his own horses. He wanted to race like his father, wanted to be as good with horses as him. Raphael lost himself to the sounds and smells and memories a moment, allowing them to comfort him and offer him refuge. The sounds of his father's horse, Splinter, stomping one of his hooves near him, his own horse, Spike, huffing at him. The smell of the horses and the hay were warm and natural, nostalgic, almost. His love had faded out when his father had been killed in a race by a fatal fall. Or maybe his love hadn't faded out, maybe it had just been hidden underneath the fear for so long that he thought it was gone. He had only been nine when his father died. He had been old enough to remember, old enough to be <em>scared</em>. For two years afterwards, he had refused to so much as be near a horse, so scared to be near one. Deep down, he knew it wasn't Splinter's fault. Something had to have happened for him to throw Raphael's father off, because he wouldn't have just done it randomly, but Raphael couldn't shake the fear.</p><p>Raphael was brought back to reality when Donatello nudged him slightly, tilting his head towards the stalls. They still had to let the horses out into the pasture. Raphael nodded wordlessly, and walked over to his mother's horse, Setsuko, and began unlatching the door to her stall. Setsuko reached her gray head out and nuzzled his face, huffing and making him step back a bit. He gently pushed her head away, trying to get back to work and finish unlatching the door. After he had unlocked the door, he placed a hand on her back and led her out into the pasture. Once outside, Setsuko took off, trotting as soon as she was near the center of pasture and then stopping to graze, flicking her tail. Behind him, Donatello let Splinter out and guided him out to the pasture while Raphael walked over to his own horse. Spike stomped once, waiting to be let out. Raphael did so, backing up a bit as Spike pushed the door open once it was unlocked. Both horse and human were stubborn, but Spike allowed Raphael to lead him outside. Once finished, Raphael realized that he hadn't heard Donatello unlatching a door yet. Frowning, he turned, and paused when he realized that Donatello was frozen in front of Fujin's stall. Fujin was just waiting patiently, occasionally huffing, but Donatello wouldn't move, and probably wasn't even breathing. Raphael approached, and gently placed a hand on Donatello's shoulder. Donatello jumped and turned to face him, but nodded, turning back to Fujin and fumbling with the lock as Raphael passed, going to one of the newer horse's stalls, Michelangelo's horse. It was only a yearling, still young and full of energy, but would soon be ready to be introduced to tack. When Raphael neared Michelangelo's horse, Klunk, he named it, Klunk bounced over to him, head raised and whinnying. Once he was sure Fujin was out of the stables, Raphael let Klunk out, wary of the colt that still had a bounce in its step and was excited to be out. Klunk ran to Setsuko, his mother, as soon as he was outside, greeting her with a series of neighs. Michelangelo himself was outside too, filling a few balls with treats to entertain the horses. Blama, Donatello's horse, walked by Raphael and out into the pasture, joining the others while Michelangelo rolled the toys out into the pasture and waved to Raphael and Donatello, who simply settled to stand in the entryway of the stables. The two were silent, perfectly okay with just standing there together and watching the horses graze and push the toys across the field.</p><p>After waiting a few more minutes, the both of them walked over to Michelangelo, joining their youngest brother on the back porch. They watched the horses run for hours, trying to distract themselves for the time being. It was the weekend, so Michelangelo and Donatello couldn't go to school to try and get their mind off what happened, and Raphael was job searching, so he just couldn't get the distraction he so desperately wanted. Occasionally, one of them would strike up a conversation that didn't last long, and then they would go silent again. When the sun hung low in the sky and the horizon began to turn red, they stood, going to muck out the stalls before they brought the horses in to ensure that the horses would stay healthy. At least that was distracting. To muck out, replace the bedding, and make sure that there was food and water in six stalls was hard work, although it was easier with three people working. Once they were done, Michelangelo and Donatello went out into the pasture. Raphael stayed at the entrance to the stables, held a hand up to his mouth, and gave one long, loud whistle. On cue, the horses came to him while Donatello and Michelangelo put the toys away, and Raphael led each of the horses to their stalls, making sure that the doors were locked before he left, locking up the stables before he went back to the house. Maybe he should consider college. He was fresh out of high school, and college would help him with job opportunities. College would also serve as a good distraction. He thought about it intently for a moment before realizing that college also meant living on campus, and away from home. Maybe not, then. Michelangelo and Donatello greeted him at the back door, taking off boots that were used only when they were working in the stables. It had been established long ago that they were to take off the boots before going in the house, so that they wouldn't track filth inside. Raphael followed their lead, leaving his boots outside and walking into the house with his brothers. He looked over at Leonardo. He was still asleep. Or, maybe, he had woken up at some point and gotten medicine, which had knocked him back out. Raphael didn't linger on that thought, heading over to his room. He still had to figure out what to do with the rest of his day. At least Donatello and Michelangelo had homework to do, something to focus on. Eventually, he settled on watching YouTube for a bit, letting his thoughts be drowned out by gaming speedruns and half finished animations. He watched for a few hours, and stopped when it was getting late. Raphael settled into bed, ready to sleep instead of staying up doing random things for once.</p><p>He didn't dare think, or move, until sleep overcame him.</p><p>%%%</p><p>Leonardo awoke slowly, mind foggy. He couldn't feel his entire left leg, which should've been alarming, but it wasn't. He was so <em>tired</em>, it felt like he was rising from the grave. Sitting up, he accepted the water bottle and pill handed to him. When had he sat up? His mother was in front of him, so he assumed that he had been moved. He didn't take the pill just yet. He wanted to be aware for a moment longer, wanted to see where he was and what happened. It took him over a minute to realize that he was home, sitting on the couch. His mother was near him, watching anxiously. He shifted his gaze down to his left leg, reassuring himself that it was there. His mother gently grabbed his hand, and he took the pill, following it with water. She was asking him something, but he was already nodding off, drifting away into the darkness.</p><p>%%%</p><p>Donatello kept his head low at school on Monday, trying to weave his way through small flocks of other students and ignore the voices that seemed too loud. He just wanted to get to class and get it over with, if he could just <em>get</em> there first. Somebody made wild gestures with their arms, accidentally elbowed him in the ribs, and didn't even apologize. Stupid 10th graders. How were they even that loud at six in the morning? Where were they getting the energy? Donatello had already downed four <em>pots</em> of coffee in an attempt to be ready for school, and he was still exhausted. When he finally reached his Algebra class, he tried to make himself as invisible as possible, slipping over to his desk and settling down. All he had to do was get through seven hours of school without many interactions with other people, still pass despite his lack of energy, and get home. He could only wish it was that simple. Someone behind him tapped him on his shoulder, and he tensed. Of course.</p><p>Donatello turned to look at the person behind him. Of course, it was possibly the <em>loudest</em> girl in the entire school, smiling at him like everything was just <em>perfect</em>.</p><p>"Hi!" She greeted cheerily, "How's your brother doing?"</p><p>Donatello internalized his suffering, forcing a smile back while he responded. "Hey." Of course she heard. Somehow, she always knew what was happening with anyone in the school at anytime. "Which brother do you mean?"</p><p>She gave him a playful shove, and he grunted. "You know what I mean!"</p><p>"Yeah, he's doing fine."</p><p>"Is he out of the hospital yet?"</p><p>"Mhm."</p><p>"Great!"</p><p>Suddenly, she launched into a long rambling about... Almost everything. By habit, Donatello merely nodded along and grunted responses while he zoned out, pulling books out of his bag and not bothering to pay attention anymore. Something about drama with her friends. A question he had been bracing himself for popped up, snapping him out of his thoughts.</p><p>"Do you have any idea when I might be able to come over yet?"</p><p>She always asked, at least once a week. She always wanted to come and see the horses, ever since he had mention that they had a few. He doubted she'd stay long. She wore too much frill and not enough stuff that she was willing to get dirty around the stables. He gave the same response he always did, and ended the one-sided conversation with two words.</p><p>"No, sorry."</p><p>She huffed, but went silent behind him, just in time for class to start. It would be a long day, he could already tell, but at least it would offer some shelter from his thoughts. Normally, he wouldn't enjoy school, thoughts always some place else, but for once, he was glad that he could drown out his thoughts in calculations, history, school events, science, and the constant drama of the people around him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Donnie's horse's name is Blama in honor of the person who's been helping me with this idea and supporting me the whole way 💚💚💚</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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